Written Answers Tuesday 24 July 2007

Scottish Executive

Antisocial Behaviour

Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in the Glasgow City Council area since March 2006.

Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not yet held centrally. We expect the figures for 2006-07 to be available by the end of this year.

Antisocial Behaviour

Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been given to Glasgow City Council to tackle antisocial behaviour in each year since 2004, broken down by project.

Mr Fergus Ewing: The funding given to Glasgow City Council since 2004 to tackle antisocial behaviour, which is not ring-fenced for specific projects, is as follows:

  2004-05 - £ 2,487,000

  2005-06 - £ 2,760,950

  2006-07 - £ 3,238,000

  2007-08 - £ 3,401,000

  Total - £11,869,950

  In addition, separate monies provided to Glasgow City Council for community safety, youth justice, noise nuisance and violence reduction can all be used to tackle aspects of antisocial behaviour.

Antisocial Behaviour

Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many breaches of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) have been recorded since 2002, also expressed as a percentage of the total number of ASBOs issued during that period.

Fergus Ewing: Reliable data for breach of antisocial behaviour orders is only held centrally for 2004-05 and 2005-06. This reveals that 140 and 153 orders were breached in these years, respectively. The independent research which provides us with this data expresses the number of orders breached each year as a proportion of the number of orders in force at the end of each year rather than the number issued each year. This is a more accurate reflection the true breach rate because a high proportion of ASBOs are in force for more than one year. On this basis, the research estimated the ASBO breach rate at 26% in 2004-05 and 31% in 2005-06.

Antisocial Behaviour

Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many breaches of antisocial behaviour orders have resulted in a criminal conviction.

Fergus Ewing: The information requested is provided in the following table.

  Individual offences of breach of ASBOs with a charge proved in Scottish Courts, 1999-00 to 2005-06

  

Financial Year
Proven Breach Charges


1999-2000
5


2000-01
24


2001-02
43


2002-03
51


2003-04
43


2004-05
158


2005-06
237



  Source: Scottish Executive Court Proceedings Database.

  The data provided does not include cases in which the breach is treated as an aggravating factor in a conviction for another offence.

Antisocial Behaviour

Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many 12 to 15-year-olds have been issued with antisocial behaviour orders since October 2004.

Mr Fergus Ewing: The most recent data held centrally indicates that nine 12 to 15-year-olds have been issued with Antisocial Behaviour Orders since October 2004 (up to end-March 2007).

Antisocial Behaviour

Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish its report on the implementation of civil antisocial behaviour orders.

Fergus Ewing: We expect to publish this report in due course. Annual surveys of antisocial behaviour order usage, for 2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-06, which will contribute to the forthcoming report, are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib numbers 43140, 43141 and 43142 respectively).

Antisocial Behaviour

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will support communities in tackling antisocial behaviour.

Fergus Ewing: We plan to take a fresh look at the national antisocial behaviour strategy to see where it can be strengthened and improved and to ensure greater community involvement. We also plan to streamline the relationship between central government and local agencies to help facilitate more effective and efficient local service delivery, more closely targeted towards addressing local needs. A national community safety awards scheme is also in development to reward and support those communities that are working hard to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Asylum Seekers

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what involvement it has had in the case of the asylum seeker, Sana Hussein, in respect of the welfare of her four children.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Executive has had no involvement in this case.

Asylum Seekers

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive whether it will give due consideration to the feasibility of responding to aspirations among asylum seeker children to undertake degree level study as recommended in the HM Inspectorate of Education report, Joint inspection of services for children of asylum seekers in Glasgow City Council area, published on 26 June 2007.

Fiona Hyslop: Safeguarding the wellbeing and protecting the human rights of all children, including those of asylum seeking families or those that have sought asylum in their own right, is an issue which I take very seriously. These children have the same human rights as other Scottish children and think that where possible the Executive and Scottish public services should support young asylum seekers and children of asylum seekers.

  I discussed this issue with Universities Scotland on 4 June and have asked officials to examine the policy options available. Once fully considered I will make an announcement on this issue in due course.

Asylum Seekers

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive, in order to carry out its responsibilities in respect of asylum seeker children, what information it receives from the Home Office on the number of children (a) detained in and (b) deported from Scotland and the ethnicity of such children.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Executive does not have any legal responsibilities in relation to asylum seeker children. Scottish legislation such as the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 places specific responsibilities on local service providers to care for and support children in their area, including the children of asylum seekers.

  The Executive has however recently asked the Border and Immigration Agency to provide a detailed monthly statistical summary on asylum seeker children in Scotland.

Asylum Seekers

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what the legal aid costs have been of representing detainees at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre in each year since 1999.

Adam Ingram: Information on Legal Aid provided in relation to those detained at Dungavel is not held centrally.

Asylum Seekers

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what the legal costs have been of investigating any incidents involving detainees at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre in each year since 1999.

Adam Ingram: Information on the legal costs of investigating incidents involving detainees at Dungavel is not held centrally.

Bridges

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in order to ensure that a new Forth crossing delivers value for money and benefits travellers and the economy, it will invite Audit Scotland to review plans for the crossing.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland understands that Audit Scotland will shortly commence its value for money study Major Capital Projects Review. It is for Audit Scotland to determine which specific projects will be studied.

Bridges

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration will be given to assisting with the cost of building a pedestrian river bridge in Thurso to replace the bridge that suffered severe storm damage in October 2006.

Stewart Stevenson: The Highland Council has identified storm damage repair works valued at £6.31 million. This included the costs of repairs for community projects of which the pedestrian river bridge in Thurso was one. The Scottish Executive has provided an initial grant of £4 million to the Council for storm damage remedial works and it is for the Council to prioritise the use of this funding. The Scottish Executive has also made a commitment to the Council to consider what additional funding might be made available to assist with storm damage repairs.

Bridges

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on what date it expects the Forth Road Bridge to have to close to HGVs.

Stewart Stevenson: It is currently not known when, or if, restrictions to HGVs will be required on the Forth Road Bridge. The bridge is owned and operated by the Forth Estuary Transport Authority. Transport Scotland is working closely with FETA to ensure that it is aware in advance of the timing, extent, and impact of any such restrictions should they be required.

  Transport Scotland has operational responsibility for this matter and can be contacted for further information.

Bridges

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to complete construction of a new road crossing for the Firth of Forth.

Stewart Stevenson: The earliest date for completion of a Forth crossing is 2016.

Bridges

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what contingency plans it has in place to ensure that HGV vehicles are able to cross the Firth of Forth in the event that the current Forth Road Bridge has to close to HGVs before a new crossing is built.

Stewart Stevenson: Detailed planning work is being undertaken by officials from Transport Scotland, Scottish Executive and the Forth Estuary Transport Authority to examine what measures might be required.

Bridges

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimates are of the financial costs per year to (a) Fife, (b) the Lothians and (c) Scotland of closing the Forth Road Bridge to HGVs before a new crossing is complete.

Stewart Stevenson: The estimated cost to the Scottish economy of a ban on HGVs crossing the Forth Road Bridge before a new crossing is completed is estimated to be in the order of £20 million a year at current prices. This represents the cost to Scotland as a whole and comprises the increase in journey time and costs associated with HGV traffic diverting. Although the effects will be distributed across the whole of the Scottish economy, they will impact more acutely in the areas around the current bridgeheads. It is not possible to be more specific at this time.

Bridges

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many journeys were made by HGVs across the Forth Road Bridge in each of the last three years.

Stewart Stevenson: This information is a matter for the Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) and can be accessed on FETA’s website at: www.feta.gov.uk .

  FETA records information for traffic and revenue purposes on vehicles that cross the bridge, with a single category for all vehicles in excess of 3.5 tonnes. The figures within this category for each of the last three calendar years (northbound only) are shown in the following table.

  

Year
Vehicles Over 3.5 Tonnes


2004
703,824


2005
728,810


2006
716,699

Bridges

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to include a rail crossing, or other public transport provision, with the new Forth road crossing.

Stewart Stevenson: Provision for enhanced public transport will be incorporated into the replacement crossing in order to manage predicted increase in demand for cross Forth travel. However, the crossing will not include heavy rail since sufficient capacity exists on the existing Forth Bridge to cater for predicted future demand for rail travel.

Bridges

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to consult the people, communities, businesses and voluntary organisations of Fife regarding (a) the location of the new Forth road crossing, (b) whether the new crossing takes the form of a tunnel or bridge, (c) the timetable for starting and completing the construction of the new crossing, (d) the lifespan of the new crossing and (e) whether the new crossing will include provision for rail and other public transport provision.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland will hold public information events over the summer to present the finding of the Forth Replacement Crossing Study reports. This will involve hearing the views of people who may be affected by any of the crossing options and will include discussion on the issues raised in this question where necessary.

Bridges

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive where and when the public information exhibitions on the new Forth road crossing announced by the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change ( Official Report c. 1132) will take place.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland is currently planning a programme of events for the end of August. The details and locations will be confirmed as soon as possible with advertisements appearing the local press.

Bridges

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to consult the people, communities, businesses and voluntary organisations of Fife on the new Forth road crossing other than through the public information exhibitions announced by the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change ( Official Report c.1132).

Stewart Stevenson: The public information events will present the facts which underpin the published study reports. Statutory consultation will be undertaken as part of the authorisation for the crossing.

Bridges

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has ruled out charging tolls on the new Forth road crossing once it has been completed.

Stewart Stevenson: Further work on funding options for the crossing will take place over the summer to allow a decision to be made in autumn 2007. No decision has yet been taken on whether the new crossing will be tolled or not.

Bridges

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be a tolerable minimum lifespan for the proposed new Forth road crossing.

Stewart Stevenson: Any new crossing will be constructed with a 120 year design life. This assumes a regular and appropriate maintenance cycle in order to sustain the structure.

Bridges

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the carbon emissions implications of all options for the new Forth crossing will be a factor in selecting the preferred option.

Stewart Stevenson: The environmental impact of any crossing will be one of the factors which will be considered when selecting the preferred option.

Bridges

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what weight it will give to carbon emissions when selecting the preferred option for the Forth crossing.

Stewart Stevenson: Carbon emissions will be one of the factors considered when selecting the preferred option in accordance with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance.

Care of Elderly People

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the social work expenditure on care of elderly people was in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority and expressed also per head of population.

Shona Robison: Net expenditure figures are provided from 2002-03 onwards. Expenditure figures prior to 2002-03 are not comparable. The information requested is given in the following table:

  Net expenditure1 per Local Authority on Older People

  


 
2002-033
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


£000s
£ per head2
£000s
£ per head2
£000s
£ per head2
£000s
£ per head2


Scotland
769,997
947.25
853,185
1,041.66
914,005
1,105.80
952,543
1,143.38


Aberdeen City
29,626
915.15
35,832
1,108.18
37,296
1,155.64
42,303
1,310.18


Aberdeenshire
29,285
886.24
34,991
1,032.06
37,762
1,080.43
39,751
1,106.81


Angus
20,944
1,059.70
22,729
1,138.33
24,110
1,192.91
24,705
1,204.89


Argyll and Bute
16,885
987.83
17,514
1,007.13
18,447
1,042.32
19,562
1,089.81


Clackmannanshire
5,710
807.75
6,415
891.96
7,225
988.10
7,515
1,018.15


Dumfries and Galloway
22,326
770.74
26,047
886.71
28,322
949.16
28,451
939.10


Dundee City
23,606
915.71
26,236
1,016.98
29,933
1,163.08
29,709
1,158.34


East Ayrshire
18,057
925.72
20,544
1,049.50
21,272
1,081.11
21,991
1,110.15


East Dunbartonshire
9,769
563.74
12,839
723.28
12,222
678.13
12,958
708.01


East Lothian
13,582
863.99
15,819
990.11
18,400
1,143.28
18,627
1,149.18


East Renfrewshire
12,416
866.68
13,042
889.21
11,621
783.98
13,092
873.44


Edinburgh, City of
56,934
824.28
70,890
1,027.33
78,487
1,139.09
89,475
1,303.41


Eilean Siar
8,379
1,597.22
9,307
1,768.05
9,263
1,754.69
12,053
2,252.90


Falkirk
22,266
982.79
23,647
1,036.69
24,997
1,078.11
25,627
1,095.45


Fife
54,532
945.75
61,818
1,064.85
61,857
1,054.68
62,561
1,056.27


Glasgow City
102,876
1,148.73
93,694
1,061.54
105,453
1,211.32
99,194
1,156.79


Highland
36,745
1,042.35
39,404
1,095.29
42,364
1,157.14
49,534
1,321.61


Inverclyde
14,315
1,024.18
16,324
1,162.60
16,088
1,149.55
17,449
1,243.16


Midlothian
10,045
819.93
12,201
995.67
12,929
1,038.47
13,153
1,048.55


Moray
11,458
796.41
13,705
939.21
15,144
1,014.40
16,524
1,091.05


North Ayrshire
18,102
812.51
21,459
944.08
23,739
1,031.41
27,236
1,163.78


North Lanarkshire
56,803
1,262.01
55,829
1,225.61
61,287
1,329.38
59,686
1,275.78


Orkney Islands
4,166
1,275.18
5,094
1,521.96
5,431
1,588.94
6,353
1,796.15


Perth and Kinross
22,099
868.13
26,407
1,023.21
27,336
1,036.51
27,730
1,035.01


Renfrewshire
23,856
889.12
25,874
962.14
27,482
1,014.96
26,494
976.02


Scottish Borders
15,980
784.83
18,923
918.99
19,968
951.54
23,075
1,089.52


Shetland Islands
4,847
1,542.16
5,678
1,781.05
5,912
1,826.38
7,732
2,324.71


South Ayrshire
19,848
913.18
25,604
1,167.48
26,563
1,202.00
26,099
1,166.96


South Lanarkshire
45,319
972.80
50,279
1,064.65
53,951
1,121.99
56,771
1,167.41


Stirling
11,163
813.99
14,246
1,035.70
15,120
1,082.86
14,245
1,006.86


West Dunbartonshire
13,582
922.69
12,993
885.81
14,519
987.22
12,889
880.28


West Lothian
15,766
840.81
17,801
927.67
19,505
985.25
19,999
986.19



  Source: As reported on the Local Finance Return (LFR3) for Social Work.

  Notes:

  1 Net expenditure is expenditure to be financed from grants, non-domestic rates, council taxes and balances.

  2 All per head figures are based on mid year estimates for Scotland population aged 65 years plus.

  3 From 2002-03, expenditure figures include items such as home care, equipment and adaptations, community alarms, lunch clubs and meals on wheels. It also includes free personal care from 1 July 2002.

Care of Elderly People

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) residential, (b) nursing and (c) mentally infirm elderly people’s care beds have been available in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area and showing the total annual cost of providing the beds in each category.

Shona Robison: The number of beds available in Care Homes for older people is given in the following table. Care Homes for older people will cater for older people with varying levels of need including nursing care and dementia. Beds are not categorised as (a) residential, (b) nursing and (c) mentally infirm and are therefore presented as a total.

  Table: Number of Beds Available in Care Homes for Older People, by Local Authority

  

Local Authority
Mar-02
Mar-03
Mar-04
Mar-05
Mar-06


Aberdeen City
1,697
1,613
1,606
1,586
1,553


Aberdeenshire
1,991
2,017
1,975
1,966
1,905


Angus
1,026
1,018
1,057
1,029
1,063


Argyll and Bute
777
802
776
745
734


Clackmannanshire
234
234
234
234
234


Dumfries and Galloway
1,226
1,226
1,209
1,224
1,186


Dundee City
1,021
996
998
986
957


East Ayrshire
889
844
840
804
854


East Dunbartonshire
597
601
601
527
532


East Lothian
724
696
690
701
712


East Renfrewshire
556
554
554
554
551


Edinburgh, City of
3,155
3,089
3,093
2,981
2,916


Eilean Siar
218
218
218
219
219


Falkirk
944
946
927
935
912


Fife
2,457
2,479
2,458
2,594
2,670


Glasgow City
4,637
4,620
4,569
4,541
4,526


Highland
2,021
1,993
1,981
1,996
1,956


Inverclyde
583
595
580
608
624


Midlothian
625
587
586
591
588


Moray
549
537
555
582
583


North Ayrshire
1,288
1,237
1,227
1,225
1,095


North Lanarkshire
1,708
1,788
1,830
1,960
2,100


Orkney
98
104
100
100
136


Perth and Kinross
1,444
1,446
1,419
1,408
1,412


Renfrewshire
1,157
1,167
1,208
1,270
1,273


Scottish Borders
840
854
826
835
804


Shetland Islands
142
142
142
143
144


South Ayrshire
900
901
966
938
913


South Lanarkshire
2,524
2,570
2,926
2,869
2,831


Stirling
693
637
638
690
639


West Dunbartonshire
563
557
557
623
605


West Lothian
844
856
897
852
872


Scotland
38,128
37,924
38,243
38,316
38,099



  Source: Scottish Care Home Census (1).

  Net expenditure on Care Homes for Older People was published in the Statistics Release Free Personal and Nursing Care, Scotland 2002-03 to 2005-06 on the 26 June 2007 and can be accessed at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/06/22152540/13.

  The expenditure figures cannot be compared with the bed numbers at local authority level as local authorities will support residents in Care Homes outside of their council boundary.

Community Safety

Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many anti-social behaviour notices have been served since April 2006, broken down by local authority area.

Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally.

Community Safety

Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dispersal orders have been enforced since October 2004, broken down by local authority area and giving details of each order.

Fergus Ewing: The information requested, covering the period from October 2004 to end-March 2007 (the latest period for which data is held centrally), is provided in the following table. Please note that dispersal orders are a police power rather than a local authority one.

  

 
Dispersal Order Location
Reason
Local Authority Area
Police Force Area
Dates


1.
Beach Boulevard, Aberdeen(Stretch Of Road On Beach Front – Residential)
‘Boy Racers’
Aberdeen City
Grampian
01.03.05 – 30.05.05


2
Beach Boulevard, Aberdeen(As Above)
‘Boy Racers’
Aberdeen City
Grampian
31.05.05 – 28.08.05


3
Hunter Sq, Edinburgh(Square In City Centre – Residential & Business)
Street Drinking And Aggressive Begging
City Of Edinburgh
Lothian And Borders
01.08.05 – 31.10.05


4
Millbank/Chestnut Rd, Dingwall(2 Streets In Residential Area)
Large Groups Of Young People (Around 20) Engaged In Underage Drinking, Vandalism And Illegal Use Of ‘Mini-Motos’
Highland
Northern
30.09.05 – 29.12.05


5
Hunter Sq, Edinburgh(As Number 3)
Street Drinking And Aggressive Begging
City Of Edinburgh
Lothian And Borders
01.11.05 – 31.01.06


6
Mid Calder(Village – Residential)
Large Groups Of Young People (Up To 60) Engaged In Underage Drinking, Shouting, Littering.  Plus Violent Incident.
West Lothian
Lothian And Borders
01.12.05 – 28.02.06


7
St Andrew’s Church, Dumfries(Church Graveyard And Burns’ Mausoleum)
Groups Of Young People Engaged In Vandalism, Graffiti, Littering, Underage Drinking And Drug Taking.
Dumfries And Galloway
Dumfries And Galloway
30.04.06 – 29.07.06


8
St Michael’s Church, Dumfries(Church Graveyard)
Groups Of Young People Engaged In Vandalism, Graffiti, Littering, Underage Drinking And Drug Taking.
Dumfries And Galloway
Dumfries And Galloway
30.04.06 – 29.07.06


9
Hunter Sq, Edinburgh(As Number 3)
Street Drinking And Aggressive Begging.
City Of Edinburgh
Lothian And Borders
05.06.06 – 31.08.06


10
Moffat(Car Park)
Groups Of Young People Engaged In Intimidation, Noise Nuisance, Littering, Public Sexual Activity And Vandalism.
Dumfries And Galloway
Dumfries And Galloway
26.08.06 – 25.11.06


11
Lockerbie(Car Park)
Groups Of Young People Engaged In Intimidation, Noise Nuisance, Littering, Public Sexual Activity And Vandalism.
Dumfries And Galloway
Dumfries And Galloway
26.08.06 – 25.11.06


12
Knightswood, Glasgow(Residential Area)
Groups Of Young People Engaged In Intimidation, Noise Nuisance, Littering, Public Sexual Activity And Vandalism.
Glasgow City
Strathclyde
01.09.06 – 30.11.06


13
Sauchie(Village – Residential)
Since Beginning Of 2006 And Order Coming Into Force More Than 800 Complaints And 430 Crimes Were Recorded. Generally Young People Engaged In Vandalism, Fighting, Drinking And Acting In An Unacceptable Manner.
Clackmannanshire
Central
18.09.06 – 17.12.06


14
Dennistoun, Glasgow(Residential Area)
Increase In The Number Of Incidents Involving Large Groups Of Youths Gang Fighting, Carrying Knives, Vandalising Property, Drinking And Causing Disorder. 
Glasgow City
Strathclyde
13.10.06 – 11.01.07

Community Safety

Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the success of each dispersal order.

Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Executive does not monitor the success of each individual dispersal order; that is the responsibility of the police force and partner agencies concerned. We are, however, conducting a study – as required under the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 – of the operational effectiveness and impact of dispersal powers, as evidenced by the first 14 dispersal orders to be enforced. This study will be presented to Parliament by 29 October 2007.

Community Safety

Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish the evaluation of the implementation and impact of community warden schemes.

Fergus Ewing: The evaluation of the impact and implementation of community wardens was published on the Scottish Executive website on 23 March 2007 and can be accessed at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/03/22104147/0.

Community Safety

Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the anti-social behaviour outcome agreements prepared by Glasgow City Council and its community planning partners.

Fergus Ewing: Glasgow City Council’s Antisocial Behaviour Strategy Outcome Agreement: Working Together to Build Stronger, Safer Communities, is available on the Council’s website at www.glasgow.gov.uk . Annual progress reports are submitted to us for internal monitoring and assessment purposes but publication of these is a matter for the Council.

Community Safety

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the terms and timescale will be of its review of anti-social behaviour legislation and whether the outcome of the review will be reported to the Parliament.

Fergus Ewing: The terms and timescale of our review of the national antisocial behaviour strategy will be announced shortly. The outcome of the review will, of course, be reported to the Parliament.

Community Safety

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the introduction of positive behaviour orders.

Fergus Ewing: We plan to take a fresh look at our antisocial behaviour strategy to see where it can be strengthened and improved and to ensure greater community involvement. Nothing has been ruled in or out at this stage. Our evaluation of anti-social behaviour orders, which is due to be laid before Parliament by October, will help inform our wider review of what works well and what could work better.

Conservation

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish all ministerial directions given in relation to the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Amendment (No. 2) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 when the directions are issued.

Mr Michael Russell: The Scottish Executive will publish any ministerial directions given in relation to the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Amendment (No. 2) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 as and when any such directions are issued.

Crime

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any crimes or offences were omitted from the records of the Scottish Crime Survey or the Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey, similar to those against repeat victims omitted from the British Crime Survey, as identified by CIVITAS: the Institute for the Study of Civil Society.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Crime Survey (SCS) and Scottish Crime & Victimisation Survey (SCVS) provides an estimate of personal and household crime in Scotland. In this calculation repeat victimisation has been capped at 5 repeat instances per victim, similar to the British Crime Survey, as is standard practice in these surveys. The reasons for this are explained in the survey technical information, the next technical report for the SCVS, which covers fieldwork from 2006, is due to be published this autumn on the Economic and Social Data Service (ESCS) website at: http://www.esds.ac.uk/government .

Culture

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue to support Easterhouse as the location of the Scottish National Theatre.

Linda Fabiani: Yes. The National Theatre of Scotland remains committed to its homebase at the Bridge in Easterhouse and to maintaining and enhancing its relationship with the community there. The lease on the National Theatre’s other offices in Hope Street in central Glasgow is, however, due to expire in October 2008 and the National Theatre will therefore be seeking to replace those offices during the next year. An independent appraisal of the National Theatre’s accommodation needs concluded that its current accommodation is inadequate for its needs.

  The National Theatre therefore commissioned Scottish Enterprise to undertake a site search for suitable accommodation to replace the Hope Street offices. Scottish Enterprise have assessed potential properties against the space requirements and criteria developed in the earlier independent appraisal of the National Theatre’s accommodation needs. The search focused initially on Easterhouse and the east side of Glasgow where a total of 16 properties which met the National Theatre’s space requirements were considered against the criteria. Of these properties, 10 achieved a negative score. The remaining 6 achieved a positive overall score, but none scored positively against all the criteria. Scottish Enterprise therefore suggested that a better match for the National Theatre’s requirements could be found elsewhere and recommended that the search be extended to other areas of urban regeneration in Glasgow. I understand that the National Theatre is currently exploring other options identified by Scottish Enterprise as possible replacements for the Hope Street offices.

  None of this will affect the National Theatre’s commitment to their homebase in Easterhouse.

Dentistry

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental practices have ceased providing NHS dental services in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: The information requested is provided in the following table.

  Number of Practices that Ceased Providing NHS General Dental Services1,2 in the Years Ending 31 March 2000-2007

  

NHS Board Area
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07


Scotland
14
21
22
19
20
40
28
39


Argyll and Clyde
-
-
2
-
1
3
2
x


Ayrshire and Arran
2
2
3
-
-
5
2
7


Borders
-
 
-
-
-
1
-
1


Dumfries and Galloway
-
2
-
-
-
-
3
3


Fife
-
-
2
-
1
2
2
1


Forth Valley
-
1
-
3
-
3
2
9


Grampian
-
1
2
1
4
3
1
-


Greater Glasgow
2
3
4
4
2
4
4
x


Greater Glasgow and Clyde3
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
6


Highland
3
4
3
3
2
3
2
x


Highland3
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
1


Lanarkshire
1
 
1
1
-
2
1
3


Lothian
2
4
2
4
5
9
5
4


Orkney
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
2


Shetland
1
1
-
1
-
-
2
-


Tayside
2
3
1
2
5
4
2
1


Western Isles
1
 
1
-
-
1
-
1



  Source: DAS (Management Information & Dental Accounting System).

  Notes:

  - no data.

  x not applicable.

  1. Some practices may cease providing NHS general dental services permanently, while some may do so only temporarily. Some practices may close and re-open in another location.

  2. The number of practices with at least one dentist providing nNHSs general dental services on 1 april of the year in question but not on the 31 march the following year.

  3.Tthe dissolution of NHS Argyll and Clyde took effect from 1 april 2006. from this date, dental practices from NHS Argyll and Clyde are included in figures for NHS highland and NHS greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Diabetes

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether each diabetes managed clinical network has produced an insulin strategy for its area and whether these strategies include plans for the use of insulin pumps.

Shona Robison: All 14 diabetes managed clinical networks (have produced an insulin strategy for their area. Only one of these does not currently include plans for the use of insulin pumps, and this is being modified, in line with the requirements of the Diabetes action plan.

Drug Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of GP practices in each NHS board prescribe methadone.

Shona Robison: The table shows the percentage of GP practices (by NHS board area) that prescribed methadone hydrochloride for the year ending 31 March 2007.

  

NHS Board
%


Ayrshire And Arran
29.4%


Borders
63.0%


Dumfries And Galloway
64.1%


Fife
81.8%


Forth Valley
59.4%


Grampian
75.0%


Greater Glasgow And Clyde
79.8%


Highland
53.8%


Lanarkshire
52.5%


Lothian
87.1%


Orkney
31.6%


Shetland
30.8%


Tayside
70.7%


Western Isles
22.2%

Eating Disorders

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to develop eating disorder services.

Shona Robison: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland has published recommendations for healthcare professionals on the management and treatment of eating disorders (Bib. number 41194). Those recommendations are supported by our 2007 published proposals for better led, managed, organised and co-ordinated eating disorder services across the public and independent sector (Bib. number 43134).

  Following these guidelines NHS board regional planning groups are giving attention to the organisation of services through initiatives including local managed care/ clinical networks and integrated care pathways for better supported and coordinated patient journeys and family involvement. The Anorexia Nervosa Intensive Treatment Team now operating in Lothian is one such initiative which also delivers on our objectives for early interventions and reduced hospital admissions.

  NHS Education Scotland is developing a specific educational resource for both undergraduate and pre-registration programmes on mental health themes, including eating disorders.

  We continue attention on raising awareness of the effect anorexia nervosa and bulimia can have on people’s mental health and wellbeing and we are advancing a wider mental health improvement programme, which will impact on improving eating disorder care.

Education

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive how many placing requests for P1 to P3 classes in Glasgow primary schools were refused for each of the last five school years.

Maureen Watt: The information requested is only available in relation to placing requests for P1, and for P2 to P7 collectively. The table shows the number of placing requests refused by Glasgow City Council for years P1-P7 for the last five years. It does not include placing requests which were refused at the first stage but granted at a later stage (such as following an appeal).

  

Year
Placing Requests For P1 For Children Of School Age Which Were Not Granted*
Placing Requests For Years P2 To P7  Which Were Not Granted


2001-02
100
28


2002-03
37
55


2003-04
35
19


2004-05
41
18


2005-06
65
19



  *In 2001-02 to 2003-04 a number of requests to attend a P1 class in a particular school were made for children under school age. Our data does not show whether these were placing requests or requests for early entry, and they have therefore not been included in the table. There were 27 cases in 2001-02, 18 cases in 2002-03 and 28 cases in 2003-04 that fall into this category.

Education

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many placing requests so far for P1 to P3 classes in Glasgow primary schools have been refused for session 2007-08.

Maureen Watt: We do not hold the information requested. We will be collecting placing request statistics in the autumn, and will publish them in spring 2008.

Education Maintenance Allowances

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many recipients of educational maintenance allowance there have been in each of the last two years in each local authority area, broken down by age profile, and what the total expenditure has been on the programme.

Fiona Hyslop: Summary statistics on Education Maintenance Allowances are published annually on the Scottish Executive website.

  (a) Academic year 2004-05

  In 2004-05 23,650 students were on the EMA scheme, of those 16,870 attended school and 6,780 were at college. The following table shows the number of pupils who received identifiable payments from local authorities, analysed by age profile and local authority.

  Number of EMA Recipients Split by Age and Local Authority 2004-05

  

 
Age


Local Authority
Total
15
16
17
18


Aberdeen City
350
115
235
0
0


Aberdeenshire
435
155
280
0
0


Angus
290
95
185
5
0


Argyll and Bute
280
85
195
0
0


Borders
345
120
220
5
0


Clackmannanshire
155
40
115
0
0


Dumfries and Galloway
495
160
330
5
0


Dundee
715
140
390
185
0


East Ayrshire
655
170
350
130
0


East Dunbartonshire
400
150
240
10
0


East Lothian
250
70
180
0
0


East Renfrewshire
350
125
215
10
0


Edinburgh
870
265
605
0
0


Falkirk
355
135
220
0
0


Fife
1070
370
700
0
0


Glasgow
2680
550
1480
620
30


Highland
765
285
480
0
0


Inverclyde
355
135
220
0
0


Midlothian
210
75
135
0
0


Moray
240
90
150
0
0


North Ayrshire
545
205
340
0
0


North Lanarkshire
1025
365
655
5
0


Orkney
60
25
35
0
0


Perth and Kinross
330
105
225
0
0


Renfrewshire
635
235
390
10
0


Shetland
60
25
35
0
0


South Ayrshire
770
250
510
10
0


South Lanarkshire
905
305
595
5
0


Stirling
195
55
140
0
0


West Dunbartonshire
460
30
325
110
0


West Lothian
480
170
310
0
0


Western Isles
100
40
60
0
0


Total
16830
5125
10560
1115
35



  Notes:

  Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5.

  Totals may not sum due to rounding.

  National roll-out began in August 2004; prior to this EMAs were piloted for the full 16-19 age cohort in four local authority areas.

  (b) Academic year 2005-06

  In 2005-06 36,460 students were on the EMA scheme, of those 23,970 attended school and 12,490 were at college. The following table shows the number of pupils who received identifiable payments from local authorities, analysed by age profile and local authority.

  Number of EMA Recipients Split by Age and Local Authority 2005-06

  


Age


Local Authority
Total
15
16
17
18


Aberdeen City
590
125
320
145
0


Aberdeenshire
735
150
420
165
0


Angus
460
105
240
110
0


Argyll and Bute
410
80
225
100
0


Borders
515
110
275
130
0


Clackmannanshire
235
50
120
65
0


Dumfries and Galloway
785
155
415
210
5


Dundee
770
135
415
215
0


East Ayrshire
690
160
390
140
0


East Dunbartonshire
555
125
315
120
0


East Lothian
385
85
205
95
0


East Renfrewshire
525
120
285
120
0


Edinburgh
1740
385
975
380
0


Falkirk
610
165
335
110
0


Fife
1670
370
905
400
0


Glasgow
2825
630
1565
605
25


Highland
1235
265
685
285
0


Inverclyde
635
140
355
135
0


Midlothian
395
85
225
85
0


Moray
415
110
230
80
0


North Ayrshire
730
165
400
160
0


North Lanarkshire
1345
300
740
305
0


Orkney
90
20
60
15
0


Perth and Kinross
555
100
310
145
0


Renfrewshire
915
210
500
205
0


Shetland
85
15
55
20
0


South Ayrshire
555
125
295
140
0


South Lanarkshire
1435
290
790
350
0


Stirling
370
80
190
100
0


West Dunbartonshire
540
110
315
110
0


West Lothian
740
200
370
170
0


Western Isles
165
35
95
30
0


Total
23,710
5,215
13,020
5,440
35



  Notes:

  Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5.

  Totals may not sum due to rounding.

  National roll-out began in August 2004; prior to this EMAs were piloted for the full 16-19 age cohort in four local authority areas.

  (c) Expenditure

  The overall expenditure for the programme in each financial year has been as follows; £19,172,100 in 2004-05 and £29,293,070 in 2005-06.

Employment

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of unemployment is, broken down by local authority area.

John Swinney: The Claimant Count gives the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits and is produced by the Office for National Statistics.

  The following table shows the number of unemployed people claiming unemployment related benefits in each local authority in Scotland. The latest data available are for June 2007.

  Table 1: Claimant Count Unemployment by Local Authority, Scotland, June 2007

  

Local authority
Total Claimants


Aberdeen City 
1,773


Aberdeenshire 
1,189


Angus 
1,463


Argyll and Bute 
1,127


Clackmannanshire 
855


Dumfries and Galloway 
2,005


Dundee City 
3,447


East Ayrshire 
2,596


East Dunbartonshire 
938


East Lothian 
634


East Renfrewshire 
606


Edinburgh, City of 
5,759


Eilean Siar (Western Isles) 
386


Falkirk 
2,168


Fife 
6,343


Glasgow City 
14,232


Highland 
2,161


Inverclyde 
2,060


Midlothian 
745


Moray 
1,088


North Ayrshire 
3,334


North Lanarkshire 
5,348


Orkney Islands 
104


Perth and Kinross 
1,142


Renfrewshire 
2,730


Scottish Borders 
829


Shetland Islands 
150


South Ayrshire 
1,763


South Lanarkshire 
3,937


Stirling 
907


West Dunbartonshire 
2,241


West Lothian 
2,333


Scotland
76,393



  Source: Office for National Statistics.

Environment and Rural Affairs

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its news release on 19 June 2007, entitled "Keeping it simple in the countryside", what plans it or its agencies have to consult stakeholders on any new arrangements to be proposed.

Michael Russell: The Project Board to be established for the development of the new single environmental and rural delivery service will, in line with best practice in project management, include key user representatives from the stakeholder community as well as the delivery organisations. In addition, we recognise that it is vital to talk directly to those with first hand experience of the service as part of this process. The key indicator of success for the project will be in the changed experience of customers.

Environment and Rural Affairs

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its news release on 19 June 2007, entitled "Keeping it simple in the countryside", what steps it intends to take to ensure the independence of each body’s decision-making where this is necessary to provide ministers, or others, with independent, expert advice.

Michael Russell: The key driver in developing a single environmental and rural delivery service is to provide the customer; the land manager, farmer or community group, with a simpler and more accessible service through the integration of day-to-day delivery activities. The delivery organisations sponsored by the portfolio have been asked to produce a proposal which meets these objectives. This approach does not impact on the governance structure of the individual bodies, the independence of their boards or their role as expert advisers to Ministers.

Environment and Rural Affairs

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its news release on 19 June 2007, entitled "Keeping it simple in the countryside", whether it will list examples of "unnecessary red tape" that have been brought to its attention and by what process it has concluded that these are unnecessary.

Michael Russell: The project to develop a single environmental and rural delivery service is intended to shift the management of complexity from the customer by integrating services currently provided by multiple bodies. The proposal from the delivery organisations will draw on the practical experience of their front-line staff. The proposal will not remove or change individual regulations but will reduce the administrative burden on customers by co-ordinating inspection visits and moving the requirement to identify which organisation(s) to consult or ask for guidance away from the customer and into the service.

Environment and Rural Affairs

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its news release on 19 June 2007, entitled "Keeping it simple in the countryside", whether it will list any existing environmental objectives that are to be omitted from the operations of the reformed structure and, if there are none, whether it will confirm that the review process has stipulated that all existing objectives are to be met.

Michael Russell: The development of a single environmental and rural delivery service is intended to improve the effectiveness of service delivery to customers. No change to the objectives or statutory duties fulfilled through these activities is anticipated as a result of this project.

Environment and Rural Affairs

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its plan for a single point of delivery of services from the range of agencies serving rural Scotland, which the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment has asked to work more effectively together, means that the closure of some existing offices in small rural communities is envisaged.

Michael Russell: Nine of the organisations sponsored by the Rural Affairs and Environment portfolio have been asked to develop a proposal for a single delivery service for their shared customers. The proposal is expected in September 2007.

  I expect that the proposal would include consideration of the benefits which co-location of offices within the same settlement or local area might bring about. Each such case would need to be considered in terms of its overall contribution to the objective of delivering improved and better co-ordinated services.

Finance

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish details of how the Scottish Futures Trust will operate.

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when local authorities will be able to use the Scottish Futures Trust to build new schools.

John Swinney: The Scottish Futures Trust is our alternative funding mechanism to the ‘standard PFI model’, and will be able to deliver better, more efficient major public infrastructure projects for taxpayers. Work has already started on the design aspects of the Trust and an announcement will be made when we are ready to explain it in more detail.

Flood Prevention

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional support will be provided to Hawick and Newcastleton to help with flood prevention measures in light of the recent flood alerts.

Michael Russell: The Executive is committed to helping local authorities increase protection for vulnerable communities affected by flooding through investment in flood alleviation measures and defences. A total of £42 million has been made available to local authorities for the period 2007 – 2008 to support their flood prevention and coast protection programmes. It is for Scottish Borders Council to come forward with suitable schemes to take up these resources.

  In addition, the Executive has funded a variety of measures aimed at improving awareness of flood risk in vulnerable areas, as part of a more sustainable and holistic approach to flood management These include providing some £2 million to SEPA to produce the Indicative River and Coastal Flood Maps, which are available to the public via the SEPA website. Supporting SEPA’s annual flood awareness campaign that aims to build on current awareness levels and encourage people to take action to prepare for flooding, and providing initial funds to assist SEPA in developing a flood warning dissemination programme for the whole of Scotland.

  The Executive is examining all funding for future years as part of the spending review process. This includes support for local authorities’ flood prevention and coast protection programmes.

Flood Prevention

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what support was provided by the previous administration to support Scottish Borders Council with flood prevention measures.

Michael Russell: Scottish Borders Council has yet to bring forward suitable schemes to take up the resources made available by the Executive for flood alleviation.

  A total of £75 million has been made available to local authorities for the period 2006 -2008 to support flood prevention and coast protection programmes. Confirmed flood prevention schemes that meet the Executive’s technical, environmental and economic criteria are eligible for grant support at 80% of eligible costs.

Flood Prevention

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has in respect of the prevention of flooding from private land into residential properties.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has no flood prevention functions. SEPA has discretionary powers for the provision of Flood Warning for Scotland and operates formal flood warning schemes in partnership with Local Authorities and the police. SEPA also provides advice, on request, to planning authorities on flood risk based on the information held.

Flood Prevention

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers local authorities have in respect of the prevention of flooding from private land into residential properties.

Michael Russell: The primary responsibility to protect any land from flooding lies with the owners concerned. Under the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961, local authorities have a duty to assess the condition of watercourses in their area and carry out maintenance where this would substantially reduce the risk of flooding of non – agricultural land in their areas. They also have discretionary powers to carry out certain other measures to mitigate the flooding of non-agricultural land. The Act does not make a distinction between flooding of non-agricultural land in private or public ownership except where a watercourse and the land affected by flooding from it are both in the same ownership, other than the local authority; in which case the duty on the local authority to carry out maintenance of the watercourse does not apply.

Flood Prevention

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers Scottish Water has in respect of the prevention of flooding from private land into residential properties.

Stewart Stevenson: Scottish Water has no powers regarding the prevention of flooding from private land. In terms of responsibility, under the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968, land drainage is the responsibility of the landowner.

Flooding

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it will make available to local authorities to assist with the costs of the clean-up operation following the floods of the last few weeks.

John Swinney: As local authorities have a general duty to deal with emergencies there is no automatic entitlement to special financial assistance. In exceptional circumstances, however, local authorities can apply under the Bellwin Scheme for additional revenue funding to assist with the immediate and unforeseen costs in dealing with the aftermath of emergency incidents.

  Eligible costs under the Scheme are subject to a threshold which is set individually for each local authority and takes account of an assumed amount contained within each local authority's budget for such

  occurrences.

  I can confirm that to date we have not received any claims from local authorities this financial year but as these are annual thresholds any local authority which considers that it has incurred additional, eligible, costs should inform the Executive of the total sums involved so that the costs can be combined with any future claims made under the terms of the Bellwin Scheme within the same financial year.

Higher Education

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive how it will monitor the number of students entering higher education from areas of multiple deprivation.

Fiona Hyslop: The number of Scottish domiciled students from deprived areas entering higher education in the UK is published in the Scottish Executive’s annual statistical publication Students in Higher Education at Scottish Institutions 2005-06 about the numbers of students in higher education. This will allow trends to be monitored.

Higher Education

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive whether it will set targets in relation to the number of students entering higher education from areas of multiple deprivation.

Fiona Hyslop: I have no plans to set targets for students entering from areas of multiple deprivation.

  There are a number of initiatives underway to widen participation in Higher Education.

Higher Education

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what evaluation it made, prior to taking the decision to abolish the graduate endowment, of the number of students from areas of multiple deprivation who will enter higher education following the abolition.

Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Executive has not carried out any specific evaluation with regards to the number of students from areas of multiple deprivation who will enter higher education prior to taking the decision to abolish the graduate endowment fee.

  Evidence, such as the research carried out by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, shows that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are often deterred from entering full-time education because of economic hardships they suffer, particularly as a result of debt.

  The abolition of the graduate endowment fee will help relieve the debt burden on graduates and I would anticipate an increase in student numbers from areas of multiple deprivation as a result of this.

  The Scottish Executive will continue to monitor the impact of relieving of debt on the numbers of students from areas of multiple deprivation who will enter higher education.

Housing

Bill Wilson (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that private house builders and developers make a proportion of their new builds barrier-free.

Stewart Stevenson: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency, to answer. His response is as follows:

  "Improved building standards came into force on 1 May 2007 and require that all new dwellings, where it is reasonably practicable to do so, must be designed to a "liveability" standard that was based upon and developed from Communities Scotland’s Housing for Varying Needs and the Joseph Rowntree Lifetime Homes Standards.

  The main changes were:

  improved accessibility throughout all levels in a dwelling, including wider doors and corridors;

  increased area for an apartment, kitchen and bathroom on the same level;

  flexibility built into the design to allow ease of adaptability in the future;

  reduced ramp lengths and enhanced guidance on accessibility to all dwellings.

Justice

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions there have been in relation to "honour killings" in each of the last five years.

Mr Kenny MacAskill: Information on such crimes cannot be separately identified within the statistics collected centrally on homicides or court proceedings.

Justice

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to prevent "honour killings" in Scotland.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish government is committed to tackling violence and to reducing the rates of homicide in Scotland. Killing in the name of honour is murder and will be treated as such. The government is aware of the seriousness of the issues surrounding "honour killings" and other forms of honour-based violence, and will continue to work with relevant agencies including the communities affected. Honour-based violence is also one of the five priority areas included in the draft Strategic Framework on Violence Against Women which is currently being developed.

Justice

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) under 18 and (b) 18 or over have been convicted of carrying knives or possessing an offensive weapon in the Northern Constabulary area in each of the last five years, broken down by local area command.

Fergus Ewing: The available information on persons with a charge proved in court is given in the following tables.

  Persons Aged Under 18 in the Northern Police Force Area with a Charge Proved in Court for Carrying Knives or Possessing an Offensive Weapon1, 2001-02 To 2005-06

  

Year
Having In A Public Place An Article With A Blade Or Point
Possession Of An Offensive Weapon
Total


2001-02
2
2
4


2002-03
6
2
8


2003-04
1
2
3


2004-05
2
1
3


2005-06
7
1
8



  Note: 1. Where main offence.

  Persons Aged 18 and Over in The Northern Police Force Area with a Charge Proved in Court for Carrying Knives or Possessing an Offensive Weapon1, 2001-02 to 2005-06

  

Year
Having In A Public Place An Article With A Blade Or Point
Possession Of An Offensive Weapon
Total


2001-02
15
25
40


2002-03
22
23
45


2003-04
26
18
44


2004-05
20
33
53


2005-06
28
16
44



  Note: 1. Where main offence.

Justice

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) under 18 and (b) 18 or over have been convicted of carrying knives or possessing an offensive weapon in Moray in each of the last five years.

Fergus Ewing: The available information on persons with a charge proved in court is given in the following tables.

  Persons Aged Under 18 in Moray Local Authority Area1 with a Charge Proved in Court for Carrying Knives or Possessing an Offensive Weapon2, 2001-02 to 2005-06

  

Year
Having In A Public Place An Article With A Blade Or Point
Possession Of An Offensive Weapon
Total


2001-02
2
3
5


2002-03
-
-
-


2003-04
4
1
5


2004-05
2
2
4


2005-06
3
1
4



  Notes:

  1. Moray District Court and Elgin Sheriff Court.

  2. Where main offence.

  Persons Aged 18 and over in Moray Local Authority Area with a Charge Proved in Court for Carrying Knives or Possessing an Offensive Weapon1, 2001-02 To 2005-06

  

Year
Having In A Public Place An Article With A Blade Or Point
Possession Of An Offensive Weapon
Total


2001-02
7
7
14


2002-03
5
7
12


2003-04
6
9
15


2004-05
7
15
22


2005-06
7
16
23



  Notes:

  1. Moray District Court and Elgin Sheriff Court.

  2. Where main offence.

Libraries

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to support the development and improvement of public library services.

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is committed to the priorities in Building on success: a public library quality improvement matrix for Scotland, published with the support of the previous administration.

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is committed to the recommendations for the framework for delivery of library services in Building on success: a public library quality improvement matrix for Scotland, published with the support of the previous administration.

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the entitlements for the public outlined in Building on success: a public library quality improvement matrix for Scotland, published with the support of the previous administration.

Linda Fabiani: We want to see access to, and participation in, cultural activities being as wide as possible and I am currently actively considering how best to deliver our manifesto commitments in relation to widening access to cultural opportunities building on both good practice locally, the community planning process, and responses received in relation to consultation on the draft Culture Bill.

  Specifically in relation to public library service provision, the Scottish Library and Information Council continues to deliver the Public Library Quality Improvement Matrix and Fund, funded by the Executive. They are currently working with nine local authorities to evaluate their service provision. Announcements will be made shortly on this year’s successful Fund applicants.

Livestock

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to concerns that the Bull Hire Scheme is too expensive.

Michael Russell: The present charge levied for high quality bulls typically works out (after deduction of the grant) at less than £40 per cow with the actual cost depending on the number of cows a particular bull has to cover. This charge is substantially below full economic cost and is comparable to the cost per cow incurred by other cattle producers on insemination.

  The Scottish Government are reviewing arrangements for Crofters Cattle Quality Improvement in the light of the new State Aid guidelines from the European Commission. We hope to make an announcement in August about future arrangements for support.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all patients presenting with depression to a GP will be given a formal assessment and matched therapy in accordance with the commitments given in Delivering for Mental Health.

Shona Robison: All patients presenting to a GP with depression or anxiety should have an assessment carried out using an agreed assessment tool. The outcome of that assessment will inform what level of need the patient has and what treatment should be offered.

  In this respect our work with NHS Boards and their partners to increase the availability of evidence based psychological therapies in a range of setting will be key.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to reduce the number of admissions of children and young patients to adult beds.

Shona Robison: We are committed to reducing admissions of children and young people to adult beds by 50% by 2009 and to increasing the number of in-patient psychiatric beds for young people in dedicated units to 47 by 2008 and to 56 by 2010. Visits this year to all NHS Boards have focussed on implementation by the published timetable and on wider attention to the services and support in place and planned for children and young people’s mental health.

  We are also working with NHS Boards and others to provide mental health training for all those working with or caring for looked after or accommodated children and young people; and to ensuring that a named mental health link person is available to every school to better inform all concerned and help identify needs at the earliest point.

  Work continues in all areas on the implementation of overall service improvements for better community support, and better crisis prevention and intervention which will benefit the children and young people care group.

  Together with ongoing attention to early intervention and supported transitions these initiatives will help ensure the right level and quality of care is delivered to children and young people across Scotland.

Mental Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many clinical psychologists have been employed in child and adolescent mental health teams in each NHS board area in each year since 2002.

Shona Robison: The information requested is not available centrally. However information on clinical staff employed in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in NHS Scotland in 2005 can be found in Workforce Planning for Specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in NHS Scotland, Characteristics of the Specialist CAMHS Workforce at 31 May 2005 Report, which can be found at the following address: www.isdscotland.org\isd\files\CAMHS05.pdf .

NHS Staff

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the code of practice is for international recruitment to NHS Scotland and how doctors in training from development countries on the prohibited list are recruited into the NHS.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Healthcare Professionals in Scotland was published in March 2006. It aims to promote high standards of practice in international recruitment based on the principle that such recruitment should not prejudice the healthcare systems of developing countries. A key component of the Code of Practice is to preclude the active recruitment of healthcare professionals from developing countries, unless a government-to-government agreement exists.

  The Department of Health (England) has worked with the Department for International Development to produce a list of developing countries and countries that should not be recruited from. This list is based upon the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee list of aid recipients. It also includes countries from whom the UK has agreed not to recruit. This list of countries is maintained by NHS employers and can be accessed online at: http://www.nhsemployers.org/workforce/workforce-558.cfm.

  However, under the Code of Practice, healthcare professionals from these listed developing countries who volunteer themselves by direct, personal application are entitled to be considered for employment. The recruitment of non-EEA doctors within NHS Scotland will still need to comply with UK immigration rules.

  International recruitment has made a key contribution to the delivery of health services in the UK and NHSScotland has a long history of developing the knowledge and skills of healthcare staff coming to the UK at some time in their careers.

National Health Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staffed hospital beds there have been in each category of care in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is given on the ISD Scotland website: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3425.html .

Physiotherapy

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that graduates in physiotherapy find jobs in Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon: Over the past 10 years the number of physiotherapists working in NHS Scotland have increased by 37%. Locally it is for NHS boards to plan the number and skill mix of staff needed to deliver services in their areas including the recruitment of newly qualified staff.

  We are also working in partnership with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, NHS Education for Scotland and a National Solutions Group to address the current and potential challenges facing the allied health professionals (AHP) workforce in NHSScotland, with an initial focus on physiotherapists.

  This work includes exploring and developing potential educational solutions, including a development programme to enable newly qualified allied health professionals, to work in primary care and community settings. The establishment of an AHP Bank is being explored to support flexible employment options and cover short term service gaps. The group is also considering mechanisms to enable current graduates, not yet in employment, to maintain their skills and work readiness. In addition, each NHS board now has a lead contact that will link colleagues both locally and nationally to exchange ideas and create local action plans. This will pave the way for a co-ordinated national approach to the graduate employment issue and improve workforce planning.

  Developing appropriate skill mix and succession planning to create more opportunities for junior staff is also key. Funding has therefore been provided for specialist practitioner posts, a leadership programme and continuous professional development. The development of NHSScotland’s existing junior staff in this way allows them to progress into more senior and specialist posts, which will in turn free up physiotherapy posts that are more suitable for newly qualified staff.

Planning

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive how many planning application appeals have been made to it and subsequently rejected in each year since 1999.

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive how many planning application appeals have been made to it and subsequently approved in each year since 1999.

Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the question S3W-1497 answered on 23 July 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Police

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what definition of frontline it uses in respect of the deployment of police officers.

Kenny MacAskill: What constitutes frontline policing will vary from force to force and day to day. This is dependent on the operational demands and the specific level of incidents which officers are required to deal with. How officers are deployed is a matter for the relevant chief constable.

Police

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of police officers in each police force were (a) female and (b) from an ethnic minority in each year since 2002, broken down by rank.

Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is shown in the following tables.

  Percentage of Female Police Officers in Each Police Force as a Percentage of Total Staff

  

All Ranks
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
14.5
19.7
17.4
18.4


2002-03
16.8
19.5
18.4
19.2


2003-04
18.3
20.7
19.9
21.6


2004-05
20.3
20.9
20.3
21.5


2005-06
21.3
22.0
20.9
21.9


2006-07
22.8
23.8
22.0
22.8



  

All Ranks
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
17.4
16.5
17.8
20.4
17.8


2002-03
17.7
18.1
18.9
20.8
18.7


2003-04
18.2
19.4
19.9
21.1
19.7


2004-05
19.2
21.1
21.1
22.2
20.8


2005-06
20.2
20.9
22.2
23.7
21.7


2006-07
21.1
21.9
23.0
24.3
22.7



  

Constable
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
17.1
23.7
21.2
22.1


2002-03
20.3
24.0
21.9
22.3


2003-04
21.6
25.5
23.5
24.9


2004-05
23.5
24.8
23.9
25.0


2005-06
25.0
26.0
24.3
25.4


2006-07
27.7
27.8
25.6
26.4



  

Constable
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
20.1
20.6
20.6
23.9
20.9


2002-03
20.5
22.1
21.7
24.4
21.8


2003-04
20.7
24.0
22.7
24.5
22.8


2004-05
21.7
25.5
24.0
26.1
23.9


2005-06
22.6
25.4
25.3
27.5
24.9


2006-07
23.6
26.4
26.0
27.9
25.9



  

Sergeant
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
7.8
6.8
3.3
10.9


2002-03
6.5
6.4
4.2
13.9


2003-04
7.1
7.5
7.0
15.1


2004-05
12.2
9.2
10.9
14.5


2005-06
10.3
10.0
12.7
15.5


2006-07
9.6
14.1
13.7
15.4



  

Sergeant
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
8.4
6.6
8.2
7.6
8.0


2002-03
9.1
8.0
9.7
7.0
9.1


2003-04
11.3
7.8
11.2
8.6
10.6


2004-05
12.5
11.1
12.2
7.2
11.9


2005-06
13.5
9.7
13.2
8.2
12.7


2006-07
13.9
9.5
15.5
10.0
14.0



  

Inspector
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
4.8
8.7
2.7
3.4


2002-03
7.0
8.0
7.0
5.8


2003-04
11.1
3.8
8.5
9.3


2004-05
8.2
11.1
7.0
9.0


2005-06
7.1
12.0
5.0
9.8


2006-07
10.5
10.7
6.3
11.8



  

Inspector
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
6.3
3.0
5.7
3.7
5.2


2002-03
6.9
2.8
7.0
3.5
6.5


2003-04
8.3
5.3
7.6
5.6
7.7


2004-05
7.8
5.9
9.3
8.6
8.7


2005-06
9.6
8.1
9.4
9.4
9.1


2006-07
10.5
10.5
9.9
9.4
10.0



  

Chief Inspector
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
6.7
0.0
7.1
0.0


2002-03
6.7
0.0
5.9
0.0


2003-04
7.1
11.1
5.3
0.0


2004-05
11.1
10.0
0.0
8.0


2005-06
15.8
0.0
0.0
8.0


2006-07
9.5
0.0
0.0
9.5



  

Chief Inspector
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
6.8
0.0
8.5
11.8
6.7


2002-03
4.4
0.0
6.9
15.0
5.9


2003-04
6.4
0.0
5.0
15.8
5.6


2004-05
8.0
0.0
6.0
20.0
7.3


2005-06
9.8
0.0
8.4
21.1
8.8


2006-07
14.3
0.0
9.2
22.2
9.5



  

Superintendent
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
0.0
0.0
0.0
5.6


2002-03
0.0
0.0
0.0
5.6


2003-04
0.0
0.0
0.0
5.0


2004-05
0.0
0.0
0.0
4.2


2005-06
0.0
16.7
0.0
0.0


2006-07
9.1
16.7
0.0
0.0



  

Superintendent
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
9.4
0.0
4.9
8.3
4.9


2002-03
3.0
0.0
5.8
14.3
5.1


2003-04
5.4
0.0
7.8
14.3
6.2


2004-05
5.3
0.0
8.7
12.5
6.4


2005-06
9.5
0.0
8.6
13.3
7.2


2006-07
12.5
0.0
10.2
14.3
8.9



  

Acpos
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0


2002-03
33.3
0.0
0.0
0.0


2003-04
33.3
0.0
0.0
0.0


2004-05
33.3
0.0
0.0
0.0


2005-06
33.3
0.0
33.3
0.0


2006-07
33.3
0.0
33.3
0.0



  

Acpos
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
0.0
0.0
14.3
0.0
3.6


2002-03
0.0
0.0
12.5
0.0
6.9


2003-04
0.0
0.0
14.3
0.0
7.1


2004-05
0.0
0.0
12.5
0.0
7.1


2005-06
0.0
0.0
12.5
0.0
10.7


2006-07
0.0
0.0
10.0
0.0
9.7



  Percentage Of Ethnic Minority Female Police Officers In Each Police Force As A Percentage Of Total Staff

  

All Ranks
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
0.27
0.21
0.32
0.39


2002-03
0.27
0.21
0.53
0.31


2003-04
0.39
0.20
0.41
0.23


2004-05
0.49
0.21
0.60
0.36


2005-06
0.47
0.39
0.48
0.36


2006-07
0.47
0.40
0.47
0.78



  

All Ranks
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
0.78
0.29
0.76
0.34
0.61


2002-03
0.85
0.29
0.78
0.42
0.64


2003-04
1.07
0.29
1.80
0.51
1.17


2004-05
1.12
0.28
1.67
0.42
1.14


2005-06
1.32
0.28
1.61
0.42
1.14


2006-07
1.51
0.28
1.72
0.60
1.28



  

Constable
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
0.18
0.27
0.41
0.53


2002-03
0.18
0.28
0.67
0.42


2003-04
0.35
0.27
0.52
0.31


2004-05
0.65
0.28
0.78
0.48


2005-06
0.62
0.52
0.62
0.50


2006-07
0.64
0.27
0.61
1.07



  

Constable
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
0.85
0.40
0.94
0.43
0.74


2002-03
0.90
0.38
0.94
0.53
0.76


2003-04
1.11
0.39
2.05
0.66
1.34


2004-05
1.13
0.38
2.00
0.54
1.35


2005-06
1.40
0.39
1.89
0.54
1.34


2006-07
1.61
0.37
2.01
0.76
1.49



  

Sergeant
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
0.86
0.00
0.00
0.00


2002-03
0.81
0.00
0.00
0.00


2003-04
0.88
0.00
0.00
0.00


2004-05
0.81
0.00
0.00
0.00


2005-06
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2006-07
0.00
1.18
0.00
0.00



  

Sergeant
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
0.27
0.00
0.21
0.00
0.19


2002-03
0.54
0.00
0.30
0.00
0.28


2003-04
1.00
0.00
0.98
0.00
0.68


2004-05
1.04
0.00
0.56
0.00
0.48


2005-06
1.00
0.00
0.83
0.00
0.56


2006-07
0.71
0.00
1.07
0.00
0.66



  

Inspector
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2002-03
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2003-04
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2004-05
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2005-06
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2006-07
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00



  

Inspector
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
0.70
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.12


2002-03
0.69
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.12


2003-04
0.69
0.00
0.95
0.00
0.59


2004-05
1.31
0.00
0.69
0.00
0.56


2005-06
1.27
0.00
0.22
0.00
0.32


2006-07
1.97
0.00
0.21
0.00
0.42



  

Chief Inspector
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2002-03
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2003-04
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2004-05
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2005-06
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2006-07
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00



  

Chief Inspector
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
2.27
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.45


2002-03
2.22
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.42


2003-04
2.13
0.00
1.00
0.00
0.81


2004-05
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2005-06
0.00
0.00
0.93
0.00
0.38


2006-07
0.00
0.00
0.84
0.00
0.37



  

Superintendent
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2002-03
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2003-04
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2004-05
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2005-06
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2006-07
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00



  

Superintendent
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2002-03
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2003-04
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2004-05
2.63
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.45


2005-06
2.38
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.45


2006-07
5.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.89



  

Acpos
Central
Dumfries And Galloway
Fife
Grampian


2001-02
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2002-03
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2003-04
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2004-05
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2005-06
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2006-07
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00



  

Acpos
Lothian And Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
Scotland


2001-02
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2002-03
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2003-04
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2004-05
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2005-06
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00


2006-07
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00

Public Appointments

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the appointments by ministers that are not in the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland or covered by the commissioner’s code of practice.

John Swinney: I refer the member to the question S2W-15444 answered on 13 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Public Transport

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the protection afforded to emergency vehicles and crews by current legislation to include other public service vehicles such as buses and trains.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish government attaches the greatest importance to the safety of all passengers and staff using and delivering bus and train services and will continue to work in partnership with local authorities, transport operators and others on a range of deterrent and enforcement measures to make public transport safer for both passengers and staff.

  Initiatives include the issuing of swab kits to train and bus drivers for the collection of DNA evidence, the provision of CCTV coverage at stations and on buses and trains, and public awareness campaigns highlighting both the penalties associated with unacceptable behaviour and how the public and staff can help by reporting incidents. There are no plans to legislate to protect buses and trains.

Rail Network

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which rail projects it is currently considering; what their status is, and what the estimated benefit to cost ratio is for each.

Mr Stewart Stevenson: Scotland’s Railways highlights the rail projects and aspirations currently being considered. They are part of an ongoing process and S3W-1647, answered on 24 July 2007 refers to the available benefit to cost ratios.

  All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Rail Network

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which rail projects have been assessed since 1999 and what the benefit to cost ratio was for each.

Stewart Stevenson: The rail projects which have been assessed since rail powers were devolved to the Scottish Ministers are detailed in the following table:

  We would not hold the detail of projects assessed before rail powers were devolved.

  

Scheme
Bcr(£M)


Airdrie – Bathgate
1.92


Borders Railway
1.30


Edinburgh Airport Rail Link (Earl)
2.16


Edinburgh Trams (Newhaven – Edinburgh Airport)(With Earl)(Without Earl)
1.101.68


Glasgow Airport Rail Link
1.28


Larkhall – Milngavie
0.95


Stirling – Alloa – Kincardine
1.10


Waverley Station Phase 1
2.06


Laurencekirk Station
1.60


Mossend – Elgin
2.26


Dunlop Loop
1.03



  The benefit cost ratio for Larkhall – Milngavie was calculated over 30 years. Subsequent schemes have been appraised over 60 years following changes to Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance and HM Treasury Green Book.

Rail Network

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the benefit to cost ratios are for the (a) Edinburgh to Gorebridge and (b) Edinburgh to Tweedbank routes of the Waverley railway project.

Stewart Stevenson: The Promoter for the Waverley Railway Project has reported a benefit to cost ratio of 1.3 in their most recent Outline Business Case for the Edinburgh to Tweedbank route. No comparison cost to benefit ratio exists for an Edinburgh to Gorebridge option.

Rail Network

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the up-to-date cost estimates are for the (a) Edinburgh to Gorebridge and (b) Edinburgh to Tweedbank routes of the Waverley railway project.

Stewart Stevenson: The Promoter for the Waverley Railway Project has reported their up-to-date cost estimate for the Edinburgh to Tweedbank route as £174.45 million. This has been calculated from their £129.5 million original estimate at 2002 prices indexed at 3.5% per annum. No up-to-date cost estimate has been presented by the Promoter for an Edinburgh to Gorebridge option. It makes no provision for optimism bias.

  Transport Scotland understands that Audit Scotland will shortly commence its value for money study Major Capital Projects Review. The study will provide a strategic assessment of progress with recently completed and current major projects in Central Government, including Transport Scotland projects. The indicative publication of this review is Spring 2008. It is for Audit Scotland to determine which specific projects will be studied.

Rail Network

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the transport strategic spending review, it is satisfied with the (a) accuracy of the cost of and (b) assessment of risk involved in the Waverley railway project.

Stewart Stevenson: As I announced in my statement to Parliament on 26 June 2007, Transport Scotland is continuing a due-diligence review of the Borders railway as it prepares to take on the role of Authorised Undertaker for the railway, a role that it is assuming at the behest of the previous Administration. However, we have learned that the Waverley Railway Partnership's proposed funding package will not be sufficient to deliver the project and that opening in December 2011 is not achievable.

  One of the Scottish Government’s conditions attached to its £115 million contribution in 2002 prices towards the scheme, is that the Waverley Railway Partnership must develop and deliver a clear and comprehensive risk management strategy. This risk management strategy will be subjected to the due diligence review.

  Transport Scotland understands that Audit Scotland will shortly commence its value for money study Major Capital Projects Review. The study will provide a strategic assessment of progress with recently completed and current major projects in Central Government, including Transport Scotland projects. The indicative publication of this review is Spring 2008. It is for Audit Scotland to determine which specific projects will be studied.

Rail Network

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in order to ensure that the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) delivers value for money and benefits travellers and the economy, it will invite Audit Scotland to review plans for GARL.

Stewart Stevenson: Audit Scotland have previously published an overview of the performance of transport in Scotland (September 2006). This report included a position statement on 15 major road and rail projects, including the Glasgow Airport Rail Link.

  Audit Scotland will shortly commence its value for money study Major Capital Projects Review. The study will provide a strategic assessment of progress with recently completed and current major projects in central government, including Transport Scotland projects. The indicative publication of this review is Spring 2008 and it is for Audit Scotland to determine which specific projects will be studied.

Renewable Energy

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will encourage and enable the use of renewable power sources in conservation areas.

Jim Mather: A study in 2001 identified a potential renewables resource in Scotland of around 60 GigaWatts – around 10 times our current peak demand. The study excluded from its analysis those areas with environmental designations. We will aim to strike a balance between making the most of Scotland’s abundant natural energy resource and the need to protect our environment and natural heritage areas.

  Planning policy and advice sets out how micro-renewables can be sited even in sensitive areas. A Planning Advice Note was published last year which explains how the planning system should support micro-renewable technologies in a way that protects environmental quality and shows how this can be achieved even in sensitive areas. As with many planning issues, a careful balance has to be struck between new development and the need to take account of other interests such as the historic environment.

Road Safety

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-967 by Stewart Stevenson on 22 June 2007, whether it will commission research into the connection between weight and sleep disorders.

Stewart Stevenson: The future economic and social research programme for transport within Scotland, which includes road safety, is currently being developed and is expected to be finalised by September. No other studies into this matter are currently under consideration.

Road Safety

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the safety of streets around schools.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Executive is providing funding totalling nearly £50 million between 2003 and 2008 for local authorities for 20 mph schemes outside schools and related safety projects, including safer routes to school and home zones. It is for each local authority to determine its priorities for the use of these resources. The Scottish Executive is also providing funding to Sustrans and to Cycling Scotland for projects to tackle congestion on the journey to school.

Roads

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive when repairs to the A9 at Scrabster will be completed.

Stewart Stevenson: The geotechnical investigation into the landslip at Scrabster was completed at the end of May 2007. The timing and nature of the works to stabilise the slope will depend on the engineering assessment of the data currently being collected from monitoring devices in the slope.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it remains committed to the planned road improvements on the A7 at Auchenrivock.

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the previously agreed funding for the road improvements on the A7 at Auchenrivock will remain available to allow the work to go ahead in summer 2007.

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the road improvements on the A7 at Auchenrivock will commence in summer 2007.

Stewart Stevenson: Yes. Preliminary environmental and utility diversion works that form part of the planned Improvements to the A7 at Auchenrivock have already been completed. Tenders are currently being prepared for the main contract which is expected to start this Autumn.

Roads

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimate is of the cost of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and the benefit to cost ratio associated with the project.

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the transport strategic spending review, it is satisfied with the (a) accuracy of the cost of and (b) assessment of risk involved in the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project.

Stewart Stevenson: The cost estimate inherited from the previous administration is in the range £295 million - £395 million. This is based on the risks as currently identified but we will continue to monitor this in light of prevailing tender prices for roads contracts. The final costs will not be known until tenders have been returned and the contract completed. The benefit to cost ratio is approximately 5:1.

Roads

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the transport strategic spending review, it is satisfied with the (a) accuracy of the cost of and (b) assessment of risk involved in the M80 Stepps to Haggs project.

Stewart Stevenson: The cost estimate inherited from the previous administration is based on the risks as currently identified and the final cost will be known when tenders are returned early next year.

Roads

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the transport strategic spending review, it is satisfied with the (a) accuracy of the cost of and (b) assessment of risk involved in the M8 Baillieston to Newhouse project.

Stewart Stevenson: The cost estimate inherited from the previous administration is based on the risks as currently identified but we will continue to monitor this in light of prevailing tender prices for roads contracts. The final costs will not be known until tenders have been returned and the contract completed.

Roads

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in order to ensure that dualling of the A9 delivers value for money and benefits travellers and the economy, it will invite Audit Scotland to review plans for the project.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland understands that Audit Scotland will shortly commence its value for money study Major Capital Projects Review. It is for Audit Scotland to determine which specific projects will be studied.

Roads

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of all vehicular accidents which have occurred at, or in the vicinity of, the Tomich junction on the A9 north of Invergordon in the last 10 years.

Stewart Stevenson: The following table sets out the details of vehicle accidents which resulted in injury to one or more persons at, or in the vicinity of, the A9 Tomich Junction over the last 10 years. Information about non injury accidents is not held centrally.

  

Accident Date
Accident Severity
No. Of Casualties
No. Of Vehicles
Light Conditions
Weather
Road Surface Condition
Accident Description


15-12-2001 
Slight
3
2
Daylight
Other
Wet / Damp
Vehicle 1 Travelling South Waiting To Turn Right Off The Trunk Road Is Struck By Vehicle 2 Travelling South On Trunk Road


30-7-2003
Slight
2
2
Daylight
Fine (Without High Winds)
Dry
Vehicle 1 Travelling East Turns Right Onto The Trunk Road Is Struck By Vehicle 2 Travelling South On Trunk Road


4-8-2003
Serious
1
2
Daylight
Fine (Without High Winds)
Dry
Vehicle 2 Travelling North Waiting To Turn Right Off The Trunk Road Is Struck By Vehicle 1 Travelling North


1-10-2004
Slight
1
2
Daylight
Fine (Without High Winds)
Dry
Vehicle 1 Travelling North Turning Right Off The Trunk Road Is Struck By Vehicle 2 Travelling North On The Trunk Road


28-12-2004
Slight
2
2
Daylight
Raining (Without High Winds)
Wet / Damp
Vehicle 1 Travelling East Turning Right From The Minor Road To Travel South Is Struck By Vehicle 2 Travelling South On The Trunk Road


5-7-2006
Fatal
2
3
Daylight
Fine (Without High Winds)
Dry
Vehicle 2 Associated With Vehicle 1 Travelling West On Minor Road. Vehicle 2 Entered A9 Trunk Road And Collided With Vehicle 3 



  The figures quoted may differ slightly from those published elsewhere because they were extracted on a different date and the database may have changed between the two dates, e.g. due to late returns or corrections to earlier returns.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current timescales and estimated expenditure are for all trunk road improvements in the Dumfries parliamentary constituency.

Stewart Stevenson: Our current programme of investment in the trunk road network is available on the Transport Scotland website at: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/uploads/documents/Scottish-Motorways-Trunk-Road-Programme-June2007-final.pdf .

School Transport

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will work to improve the safety of children travelling to and from schools.

Stewart Stevenson: Education authorities have a general duty to take reasonable care for the safety of pupils when under their charge. The Scottish Executive guidance to education authorities on school transport provision, Circular 7/2003, makes clear the expectation that this duty extends to pupils travelling on dedicated school transport arranged by them. This has been supplemented by School transport: survey of good practice , published on the Scottish Executive website on 16 March 2007.

  Between 2000 and 2008, we will have provided over £55 million to local authorities for Cycling, Walking and Safer Streets projects. Local authorities have also received nearly £50 million for 20 mph schemes outside schools and related safety projects, including safer routes to school and home zones, and £5 million for School Travel Coordinators to work with schools in developing and implementing effective travel plans.

  The Scottish Executive provided further funding of £5 million last year and £5 million this year for projects aimed at tackling the school run, including cycle training for school children as well as extended and additional path networks to and from schools - schemes which will improve safety for those wishing to walk or cycle to school.

Schools

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority requires to spend to bring its school buildings up to a modern standard.

Fiona Hyslop: Detailed information of the kind requested is not collected centrally, although our recently published Statistics Publication Notice (ISSN 1479-7569) indicates the number of schools in each authority in each of four condition categories.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

John Park (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-98 by Bruce Crawford on 21 June 2007, whether it intends to use the title "the Scottish Government" on buildings, publications and other documents instead of "the Scottish Executive".

John Park (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-98 by Bruce Crawford on 21 June 2007, whether it has estimated the costs of rebranding itself as "the Scottish Government" and, if so, what these costs are estimated to be.

John Park (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-98 by Bruce Crawford on 21 June 2007 and if it has estimated the costs of rebranding itself as "the Scottish Government", whether these costs would be borne centrally or by individual directorates.

Bruce Crawford: The Scottish Executive has been informally using the term "Scottish Government" for some years.

  We constantly review how we can most effectively and efficiently communicate the work we do for the people of Scotland. As part of that general approach, we are considering the practicalities of using the term "Scottish Government" more formally.

Scottish Executive Staff

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with a registered disability it has employed in each year since 1999, broken down by grade and expressed also as a percentage of total staff numbers.

John Swinney: The following percentages of self-declaration forms were received from disabled Scottish Executive employees:

  

Payband
 
Apr-99
Apr-2000
Apr-01
Apr-02
Apr-03
Apr-04
Apr-05
Apr-06
Apr-07


SCS & non assimilated
% disabled
*
*
*
*
*
*
1.8%
2.8%
3.1%


no. disabled
*
*
*
*
*
*
7
12
12


C
% disabled
1.1%
1.1%
1.0%
1.0%
1.2%
1.1%
1.9%
2.2%
2.0%


no. disabled
7
8
8
8
11
11
19
23
22


B
% disabled
1.8%
1.8%
2.0%
2.2%
2.2%
2.6%
3.5%
3.4%
3.3%


no. disabled
43
49
54
66
71
92
121
120
120


A
% disabled
3.3%
3.4%
3.5%
3.9%
4.2%
5.1%
6.2%
6.3%
5.9%


no. disabled
94
96
96
113
118
145
154
150
136



  Note: *Information cannot be provided where the numbers involved are fewer than 5 and could lead to the individuals being identified.

  In line with its Diversity Strategy and Diversity Delivery Plan, the Scottish Executive is committed to being an organisation that values the contribution of each member of staff and reflects the communities it serves.

Scottish Executive Staff

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of computer misuse there have been in each of its departments since 1999, broken down by category of misuse, and how many of these cases resulted in disciplinary action.

John Swinney: Since 1999 and until May 2007 there have been 178 recorded breaches of the Scottish Executive IT Code of Conduct in core departments by Scottish Executive staff. There have been no cases of misuse recorded since May 2007. The recorded breaches are broken down by department as follows:

  

Development
20


Education
15


Environment And Rural Affairs
39


Enterprise Tourism And Lifelong Learning
26


Finance And Central Services
17


Health
12


Justice
22


Office Of The Permanent Secretary
27


Total
178



  There is a range of disciplinary penalties which the Scottish Executive can impose depending upon the seriousness of the breach. Disciplinary action was taken in each of these cases.

Scottish Natural Heritage

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what progress has been made since 7 March 2005 in (a) classifying 11 proposed additions to the network of special protection areas and (b) identifying additional areas for the protection of golden eagle habitat and when it expects this programme of work to be completed.

Michael Russell: Substantial progress has been made since March 2005. Two new Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and the addition of a qualifying species on an existing SPA have been classified, and Ministers are considering Scottish Natural Heritage’s (SNH) recommendation for the classification of one further SPA. Consultation has been completed on three new proposed sites and one extension to an existing site and SNH are currently considering the responses. Consideration of the scientific case for the remaining non golden eagle site is almost complete.

  SNH are progressing a scientific case for extending the Cairngorm and Caenlochan SPAs for golden eagle and is continuing work to identify additional areas which merit further consideration as SPA for this species.

  Progress is subject to the completion of SNH statutory processes and whilst a final decision rests with Ministers, my current understanding is that the programme of additions as announced in March 2005 will be substantially complete by 2008.

Smoking

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in reducing the number of pregnant women who continue to smoke during the first three months of pregnancy.

Shona Robison: The White paper Towards a Healthier Scotland  set a target to reduce the proportion of women who smoke in pregnancy from 29% in 1995 to 20% by 2010. Latest figures available for 2005 show that 22.7% of women smoked during pregnancy.

  In addition in 2004 the Scottish government set a target to increase the rate of improvement for smoking during pregnancy in the most deprived areas by 10% by 2008, this means reducing smoking prevalence by pregnant women in these areas from 35.8% in 2003 to 32.2% in 2008. During 2003 to 2005 there was a 11.06% reduction in the number of women smoking in pregnancy from the most deprived areas. This exceeds the 2008 target level.

Student Finance

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what income it anticipates will be lost through ending all future graduate endowment payments from non-Scottish EU citizens.

Fiona Hyslop: The estimated loss of income from ending all future graduate endowment payments from non-Scottish EU citizens is £1.5m per year.

Student Finance

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what research it has carried out into the effect of ending graduate endowment payments on the number of students applying to study at Scottish institutions from other EU countries.

Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Executive has not carried out specific research into the prospect of ending the graduate endowment fee payments on the number of students applying to study at Scottish institutions from other EU countries.

  We will continue to monitor the number of students from other EU countries who apply to study in Scotland and any impact the abolition of the graduate endowment fee, if agreed by Parliament, may have.

Student Finance

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what advice it has received on its ability to make payments to graduates to enable it to implement retrospectively its policy of ending the graduate endowment.

Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Executive takes all appropriate advice as is necessary in relation to the formulation of each policy. The policy of abolishing the graduate endowment is currently subject to public consultation and the Scottish Executive will give consideration to any advice it may receive as a result of that exercise.

Student Finance

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has received on its ability to make payments to graduates to enable it to implement retrospectively a policy of abolishing student loans.

Fiona Hyslop: I am currently working with officials to take forward the proposals of replacing loans with grants and removing the burden of student loan repayments for Scottish resident and domiciled borrowers. The Scottish Executive takes all appropriate advice as is necessary in relation to the formulation of each policy.

Student Finance

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what information it receives from the Home Office under the March 2006 agreement on the number of children (a) detained in and (b) deported from Scotland and the ethnicity of such children.

Adam Ingram: The Executive does not receive any information on the number of asylum seeker children detained in or deported from Scotland under the March 2006 Agreement. Officials have however recently asked the Border and Immigration Agency to provide a detailed monthly statistical summary on asylum seeker children in Scotland.

Student Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent on Access Funds for students in the last four financial years and how much it expects to spend in the next financial year.

Fiona Hyslop: Access funds in higher education are now known as Discretionary Funds and are funds intended to provide non-repayable assistance for students in financial difficulties in order for them to access and/or continue in Higher Education (HE) and are paid in addition to any other forms of student support. They are distributed to institutions to disburse at their discretion.

  The total spent on Discretionary Funds in the last four financial years was:

  2003-04: £13.4m

  2004-05: £13.6m

  2005-06: £13.0m

  2006-07: £13.5m

  The total allocation for academic year 2007-08 is £14.7m, and it is expected that this entire allocation will be used to support students in financial need.

Student Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the abolition of the graduate endowment will have on Access Funds.

Fiona Hyslop: Access funds in higher education are now known as Discretionary Funds and are funds intended to provide non-repayable assistance for students in financial difficulties in order for them to access and/or continue in Higher Education (HE) and are paid in addition to any other forms of student support. They are distributed to institutions to disburse at their discretion.

  The abolition of the graduate endowment fee will have no impact on Discretionary Funds as they are not directly related.

Student Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Access Funds will continue to be provided to Scottish students who require financial support to enter higher education once the graduate endowment is abolished.

Fiona Hyslop: Access funds in higher education are now known as Discretionary Funds and are funds intended to provide non-repayable assistance for students in financial difficulties in order for them to access and/or continue in Higher Education (HE) and are paid in addition to any other forms of student support. They are distributed to institutions to disburse at their discretion. The graduate endowment fee and discretionary funds are not directly related.

  Discretionary Funds will continue to provide financial support to Scottish students once the graduate endowment is abolished.

Student Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to budget for Access Funds in the next spending review.

Fiona Hyslop: Access funds in higher education are now known as Discretionary Funds and are funds intended to provide non-repayable assistance for students in financial difficulties in order for them to access and/or continue in Higher Education (HE) and are paid in addition to any other forms of student support. They are distributed to institutions to disburse at their discretion.

  There are plans in place to continue to budget for Discretionary Funds in this spending review.

Student Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to change the current form of Access Funds for students.

Fiona Hyslop: Access funds in higher education are now known as Discretionary Funds and are funds intended to provide non-repayable assistance for students in financial difficulties in order for them to access and/or continue in Higher Education (HE) and are paid in addition to any other forms of student support. They are distributed to institutions to disburse at their discretion.

  Discretionary Funds in higher education have now been allocated for academic year 2007-08. They are continually monitored in order to provide an evidence base from which to introduce improvements in the way both the funds are allocated and the guidance underlying them. We have no immediate plans to change the current form of these funds.

Student Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to support the poorest students if the Access Fund is cut.

Fiona Hyslop: Access funds in higher education are now known as Discretionary Funds and are funds intended to provide non-repayable assistance for students in financial difficulties in order for them to access and/or continue in Higher Education (HE) and are paid in addition to any other forms of student support. They are distributed to institutions to disburse at their discretion.

  There are currently no plans to cut the amount of Discretionary Funds available.

Student Finance

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed abolition of the graduate endowment will widen the disparity between financial support for full-time and part-time students.

Fiona Hyslop: The abolition of the graduate endowment fee will have no effect on the disparity between the financial support available to full-time and part-time students.

  The Scottish Executive is currently undertaking a number of projects which will review both full-time and part-time student support. We will publish our findings and plans once we have carried out appropriate options appraisal and consultation with stakeholders.

Suicide

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average suicide rate was per capita in the top 10 council wards with the worst levels of deprivation, as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, in each year since 1999.

Jim Mather: The information requested is not available. The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation has not been produced at ward level.

Transport

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-795 by Stewart Stevenson on 19 June 2007, what the timescale is for Transport Scotland to complete its review of all strategic transport projects.

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-795 by Stewart Stevenson on 19 June 2007, who will be consulted as part of Transport Scotland’s review of all strategic transport projects.

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-795 by Stewart Stevenson on 19 June 2007, when the results of Transport Scotland’s review of all strategic transport projects will be made available to the Parliament.

Stewart Stevenson: I asked Transport Scotland to undertake a detailed review of all transport projects inherited from the previous administration.

  I reported the outcome of this review to Parliament on Wednesday 27 June 2007.

Transport

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether reviews of strategic transport projects undertaken by Transport Scotland are additional to the routine financial control and management of these projects and, if so, in what respects.

Stewart Stevenson: Although the timing of this review was outside that of routine financial management the review itself was in line with the normal, natural and necessary conduct of business.

Transport

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether reviews of strategic transport projects undertaken by Transport Scotland are in themselves likely to have any impact on project costs.

Stewart Stevenson: I asked Transport Scotland to undertake a detailed review of all transport projects inherited from the previous administration.

  I reported the outcome of this review to Parliament on Wednesday 27 June 2007, this included any impact on project costs.

Transport

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with Ferrovial about transport issues other than airport provision.

Stewart Stevenson: There have been no meetings between the Scottish Executive and Ferrovial about transport issues other than airport provision under the new administration.

Transport

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the implications of carbon emissions in the review of strategic transport projects.

Stewart Stevenson: The Strategic Transport Projects Review is being undertaken in accordance with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance. Carbon emission is one of the performance indicators being considered in the appraisal process.

Water Charges

Gil Paterson (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review water charges to low water-usage organisations such as churches, scouts and the boys’ brigade.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Executive consulted in November 2006 on detailed proposals to introduce a more obviously cost-reflective means of charging all non-household customers for their water services. The Executive’s analysis of this consultation is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 43156).

  The Executive will be consulting on its wider principles of charging for 2010-14 in the autumn.

Wildlife

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive whether it considers that having two squirrel control officers to protect southern Scotland from the spread of squirrelpox-infected grey squirrels is adequate.

Michael Russell: Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) currently employs two grey squirrel control officers in South Scotland. Since the discovery, in the Lockerbie area, of a red squirrel with squirrelpox virus, SNH has reviewed the strategy for control with advice from relevant experts and stakeholder organisations in order to identify the most effective approach to limit the spread of the disease and to maintain vigilance for suspected cases elsewhere. Staffing levels were included in the scope of this review.

  The conclusion was that the number of control officers is currently adequate but that this would need to be monitored as part of the overall strategy for grey squirrel control in South Scotland.